israel in serious -- syria this year. a strong earthquake hit eastern taiwan. the quake was centered -- in taipei, the building swayed for more than 10 seconds. those are the top headlines. "biz asia america" continues right now. >> welcome back. i am phillip yin. >> taking a look at some of our other top headlines. retirees and teachers were among the thousands of protesters on

the streets of athens today. they were protesting against two property tax and austerity measures. the number of americans applying for on them limit benefits felled by -- fell by 10,000 last week. wearing internet connected glasses while driving can land you in trouble. a california woman was recently pulled over and ticketed for wearing a pair of google glasses. >> are series, oil stands -- are series, oil stands at a crossroads continues. suncor energy, canada's largest energy, has plans to build a mine after years of delay. this is the biggest investment to date.

that is expected to produce 80,000 barrels of oil a day. analysts estimate it is worth $3 billion. as others are expanding, canadian oil is struggling. the lobbying effort to get the keystone pipeline approved continues. political support is growing. the house passed a bill this summer to approve the pipeline without the president's support. >> i am lee terry from the state of nebraska. >> the self-proclaimed leader of efforts in the house to get the keystone pipeline built.

>> the pipeline is a no-brainer. it has passed muster through several environmental reviews. >> you have made this your baby. it is not in your district and it does not even come close to your district. why make this your big energy contract -- your big energy project? >> i came here to not use opec oil. >> keystone will help achieve the independence for the u.s. by bringing oil from the alberta oil sands to american refineries. gasoline can be purchased by the united states. >> there is this talk about the possibility that this oil could be exported. >> yes, i have talked to all of those entities. transcanada is the facility -- facilitator of moving the oil

too many refineries -- to many refineries in the united states. those refineries will make it into several products. gasoline, diesel, lubricant, we wan to gasoline. that will be here in the united states. most of it. >> how can you be sure? >> the laws of economics. it is a lot cheaper and easier in many of these facilities already have contracts for the gasoline domestically. >> he spoke to cctv america just after this u.s. state department hearing.

>> agriculture is the number one industry in nebraska. are you concerned that an oil spill could take away that industry? >> there is no way physically that could happen, ok? we already have the keystone pipeline that has been pumping oil. there has not been a leak. >> the u.s. state department's environmental review shows the company's existing pipeline has reportedly leaking 14 times in one year. transcanada is spending millions to make its case to build keystone xl. the pipeline spent more than $2.6 million lobbying between 2009 and 2013. congressman terry has received

$300,000 from the oil and gas industry since 2000. it is a fact that those oppose the pipeline in his own state. >> over 14 years. that puts me at the bottom of the energy committee folks. >> these answer the criticism. -- please answer the criticism. >> i came here to be energy independent. >> allowing the pipeline to be built -- >> president obama has said he would approve keystone xl provided that it does not increase greenhouse gas emissions, the congressman has little faith that he will act. >> i do not think he will make the decision. >> you think he will leave the decision undone and definitely

-- indefinitely? >> their plan is to delay it out of existence. they have done a dam good job of it so far. >> so many issues and so money topics to discuss. -- so many topics to discuss. derek campbell, energy security expert. what is the problem with the pipeline? it seems to me the environmentalists and the business folks are trying to get this done. there has been a lot of discussion. part of the pipeline is already getting built. >> as we were just discussing, it has become a political issue. most of the audience

misunderstand that the xl part is in addition to the existing pipeline. >> we have pipelines everywhere. >> it is a big spaghetti bowl. this is an addition to increase the volumes we could get from alberta. it has been under review for the entire time. i am sure the democrats blame the republicans. >> they have turned this issue into a political issue. is it economically viable? is it environmentally responsible? >> you stand for the business side on this. what is the major obstacle? it is already halfway done. >> my canadian friends, people i

talk with in canada, they see this clearly as a political issue to the point where it is almost stupid. that is some of the terminology that has been used. this oil will come out of the ground and we will monetize it. you can participate or we will find some other way to get it out of canada. it will probably go to china. in texas, the folks running the refineries, they feel the same way. they may be left-leaning or right-leaning, they do not really care. as a business owner, it creates jobs. if they want to politicize it, what's politicize it around things that matter. -- let's politicize it around things that matter.

>> why is the first part of the pipeline even being built? >> there are four phases. phase one and phase two are already built. phase three is pretty much done. phase four is the people that -- is the face that people are arguing about. -- the phase that people are arguing about. >> i want to show both of you something. 30% oppose. a vast majority of americans are for it. i still, who wasas responsible for stopping this project? >> you cannot pin point a single

person. >> how about an entity? >> there are issues. there are things that are valid concerns. we know the obama administration would like to be -- would like to leave a positive -- a positive environmental legacy. >> i have to ask you. why are the first three phases done? what is the difference? >> it is the increase in production. the additional 830,000 barrels per day. when you have an industrial project, it is not the same thing as being able to see the great wall of china from space. the magnitude of this project is monumental and there are

environmental issues that need to be dressed. instead of trying to completely stop this project, i would hope that they would make sure the industry is held to the highest standards in the production of this oil. if the market is there -- >> the environmental impact study that was done, even that report came back from the epa, there are some things in this report that are not substantiated. if you look at the technologies being used to build this pipeline, no kidding, no college boy effort, they have gone the extra mile to make sure there is little to no impact.

all the states where this pipeline would travel through have not only tax benefits, but there are job creation benefits. >> the taxpayer is not paying for this pipeline. this is a private project by private companies. >> when you get this increased amount of oil, so many entities -- >> let me talk about some dangers.+ there was a train full of oil and it stopped in a town. it blew up. there is a concern that there is a danger to this. >> when you have this increase of crude traffic on rail, that

is an energy security issue. >> we do have to understand some of the environmental communities. they are more concerned with what this is doing in canada with the co2 emissions. i think this project may move forward either in this administration or the . >> or the next one after that. >> oil will get to the market some way or another. >> thank you very much. there is more on this coming up tomorrow. we will go in depth into the opposition of the project. these are the times when you can see if that is coming on tomorrow. we will visit one community directly in the path. we will go straight to brazil where the credit problems affect the rich and the poor alike.

>> welcome back. brazilian oil company has filed for bankruptcy. the company's market values plummeted. it is the latest in a series of financial disclosures. the former billionaire was pretty big. he was brazil's biggest success story. now is the -- now he is a symbol for its economic problems. does this come as a shock for the people of brazil?

>> a little more than a year ago, he was the country's richest man with a fortune of 35 ilion dollars. -- $35 billion. all of this money came from the valuation of his company's shares. what is clear that investors grossly overvalued though shares . the companies did not deliver and his fortune is below $100 million. his company mistry payments to creditors and he had to file for bankruptcy protection. >> he has to convince the creditors that there is value in keeping the company operating. my guess is that there is a big chance of creditors accepting

restructuring plan because a large part of the assets of the company's our rights to exploit oil and those rights are not something that are tradable. if the company goes under liquidation, those assets go back. is not alone in his problems with creditors and brazil. it is a problem felt much further down the social ladder. like tens of millions of brazilians, marcus joined the lower middle class over the last decade and became a consumer. banks are ready and eager to give people like him loans and credit cards. and it worked perfectly. now the spending spree is over.

the time to repay the debt has come. >> i cannot use the credit card anymore. i credit limit is not that high. -- my credit limit is not that high. like the credit card interest rates go beyond 190%. banks charge 145% for overdraft. personal loans topped 40%. this offices where people come to check their credit rating and start the process of renegotiating debts. consumer delinquency rates have risen because banks are not lending as much. >> the 40 million new consumers that joined the market over the last decade now have debts. the banks are being much more strict to give credit.

there are less consumers coming to the market. we may have a problem with those who have a large chunk of their wages compromised by loans. >> the expansion of consumer credit was a key part of brazil's growth strategy, but now analysts say consumers difficulty to repay the debt is another reminder that brazil urgently needs to create and develop a path less reliant on the growth of middle-class consumption. >> time for a quick break. headlines are next. we will look at halloween. >> a mix open for regional markets this friday.

we have turned negative across the region. the pmi coming in at 51.4, well above the breakeven point and well above expectations. positive signals from the manufacturing signal. his government prepares to enact key economic reforms. bank of japan is holding steady on its easing efforts. it implies solid growth ahead. shares in sony plummeting as much as 10% this morning after the firm posted a net loss for the september quarter. singaporean sovereign wealth fund getting a 50% boost. it stands at 1.5 u.s. dollars.

i am john gordon. back to "biz asia america." >> we are following the start of allegations at the nsa. they have been accused of breaking into john hu and googles data centers. -- into yahoo! and google's data centers. the u.s. is facing stiffer competition from countries around the world. there is some good news. passengers will be able to keep their devices on during takeoff and landing. the timing for that change will vary airline by airline. these do not talk on the phone if you were sitting next to me.

>> my favorite holiday, october 30 first is halloween. halloween is about -- has been about the undead from its beginnings in britain. one theory links back to the ancient celts. they associated the approach of winter with the death and evil spirits. the best way to protect themselves was to look like them. if they were disguised, it would leave them alone. regardless of the origins, americans spend a scary amount on halloween costumes. americans will spend as much as $2.6 billion getting into the spirit. kids will not be the only one. adults will spend more on costumes for themselves compared

to $1.2 billion for kids. let's not forget about our pets. 330 million dollars will be spent on costumes for pets. 22 million americans will coerce their furry companions into costumes and the most popular outfit this year, the pompton. -- pumpkin. the most popular costume, which is -- witch. all of that halloween spending makes it the second-largest commercial holiday in the u.s. behind only christmas. the business of halloween is no ready -- is by means -- by no means ready for the grave. >> europe's tallest building was among the projects in britain.

along with billion-dollar plans for the u.k. capital iconic power station. every year, $50 billion invested. you will see the scale of our commitment. every member of my team that can help focused on opening our country to the power of islamic finance. >> islamic finance is based on the concept that money has no intrinsic value. transactions must be asset based. risks and benefits are shared. seeking to make london one of the centers of global islamic finance. world investments will be worth more than $2 trillion.

islamic world leaders believe london's plans are significant. >> it is important because is the first time a sovereign government has taken this initiative which put islamic finance on the same with conventional banking. >> i hope it will work for all of us. >> the successful sharia compliant investment follows success. the u.k. targeting two regions with the world highest levels of international investment, china and the middle east. >> that was not a package on

halloween. we had some technical difficulties. some gremlins in the system. halloween spending in the u.s. totals $6.9 billion. here is a group that took halloween fun to new heights. more than a thousand beauty school students dressed as zombies and stormed the tokyo tower. the takeover was a promotion marking the fourth season of the popular tv series. he was afraid the zombies were almost too convincing. tokyo subways are often crowded with those in full costume on halloween night. you can expect the same on the streets in new york. that is it for "biz asia america ." thank you for watching. you can e-mail us.

you can also follow us online. check it all selection -- check us out on youtube for a selection of our stories. have a good night and a happy halloween. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--